Nico Vega Roars on ‘Beast’ (Video Premiere)

There’s more of a message to Nico Vega’s song “Beast” than just an inducement to try the latest “BioShock” video game. Although the song featured in ads and trailers for the new first-person shooter game, there’s a strong political undercurrent flowing through the tune, which is more evident in a new video premiering today on Speakeasy.

Directed and produced by Evan Urman, the clip for the heavy-hitting tune intercuts performance footage of the Los Angeles band coupled with behind-the-scenes shots of the musicians in the studio and during downtime, and there’s even a glimpse of Arrow, the 1-year-old daughter of Nico Vega singer Aja Volkman and her partner, Dan Reynolds of Imagine Dragons. Though Nico Vega wrote “Beast” long before Arrow was born, the lyrics sound like Volkman could be prescribing the sort of world she wants her daughter to grow up in.

“We believe in freedom of speech and the confidence and power it takes to find your own voice,” Volkman told Speakeasy. “‘Beast’ is a self-empowerment anthem that is meant to rally people together and wake them up. It’s about standing up for yourself and your fellow man. And caring about the social, political and economical decisions that are being made for your country. The entire world is paying attention to the decisions that this country makes. We wrote ‘Beast’ to help empower Americans to care. This isn’t meant as a broad generalization. There are a number of Americans paying attention, but we hope to help that number grow.”

The song is on Nico Vega’s latest EP, “Fury Oh Fury.” What do you think of the video? Leave your thoughts in the comments.

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